Resume: M. Scott Severance

Synopsis

I am a programmer and Linux enthusiast with wide-ranging skills and interests. I am able to learn new technologies very quickly and am looking for a new opportunity to use some or all of my skills professionally.

Portfolio

I have created a portfolio containing samples of my work.

Work History

  • February 2019–July 2020: BLG Logistics (Vance, AL)
    Analyst / Customer Support
    • Developed and ran daily performance reports in an environment where reporting is challenging.
    • Automated those reports so that my daily time spent on reports decreased more than 60% while the amount of daily reporting simultaneously more than doubled.
    • Frequently consulted by colleagues, including the IT manager, on a variety of technical questions.
    • Served as the primary point of contact for our customers and resolved any issues that didn’t require escalation.
    • As a result of my customer service work, the number of customer complaints decreased by more than 50%.
  • November 2016–February 2019: iTutorGroup (Headquarters: Shanghai, China)
    Consultant
    • Taught Internet-based English as a Second Language classes to adult students who were primarily located in China.
  • March 2017–April 2018: ELS Language Center (Addison, TX)
    Associate Instructor
    • Taught English as a Second Language classes to adult students from a variety of countries
    • Used my extensive multicultural experience to solve problems and keep students happy
  • October 2013–September 2016: Center of English Language (Dallas, TX)
    ESL teacher/Curriculum Coordinator
    • Taught English as a Second Language classes to adult students from a variety of countries
    • Was involved in a project to convert our record system from paper to electronic. This involved serving as the exclusive technical contact and system administrator, setting the system up to meet our needs, liaising with the vendor to resolve problems, and training staff on the new system.
  • March–September 2013: Mountain Light Institute (Hwasun County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea)
    Volunteer
    • Developed a bilingual website for the school with the constraint that, due to the remote location of the school, all development had to be done without internet access. Thus, there was no possibility of using any frameworks or documentation that was not already installed on my development machine. Despite this constraint, I was able to resolve all issues that cropped up and successfully launch the website.
    • Helped with planning for all aspects of the then unopened school
  • 2009–2013: SDA Samyook Language Institute (South Korea)
    Coordinator (head foreign teacher), Gwangju Branch
    • Technical accomplishments
      • Developed a set of scheduling tools to make it easier to manage complex and sometimes conflicting schedules, requirements, and schedule requests. This tool saved me considerable time and helped me to avoid making errors that would otherwise have cost other employees money.
      • Developed documentation for our internal recordkeeping system in a format the teachers could easily use and understand, and was asked to present it to all coordinators company-wide. Because of this, the teachers were able to effectively use a wider range of the available features.
  • 2004–2009: Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (headquarters: Alvarado, TX)
    Pastor
    • Developed an access-logging system for a youth event in PHP and CodeIgniter. This system created photo ID badges for all attendees and staff, who would scan their badges’ barcodes on entry and exit, thus creating a log of who was present when. In addition, the system was capable of flagging children who were not permitted to leave without being picked up by a parent. Many people commented that this system significantly increased the perceived level of professionalism for the event.
  • School years 1999-2004: Southwestern Adventist University (Keene, TX)
    Student Employee
    • Did page layout and technical tasks as necessary (including formatting musical scores) for music professor who was writing a book
    • Provided software and networking support to faculty and students on behalf of the Office of Information Services
  • 1998–2002: Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM)
    Student Intern
    • Set up new Linux network for use in computer simulations
    • Developed manual for the simulation software
    • Developed and conducted Linux training seminar
    • Administered internal departmental website

Education

  • 2012: Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
  • 2004: B.A. in Theology from Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, TX
    • Graduated summa cum laude with departmental recognition (GPA: 3.97)
    • Finished at the top of my two programming classes, and progressed much faster than my classmates

Skills

Verified Skills

Skills rated by Pluralsight and visible on their website:

  • Python: Expert (97th percentile)
  • Linux Fundamentals: Expert (95th percentile)
  • HTML, CSS, and Javascript: Expert (94th percentile)
  • Microsoft Excel: Expert (93rd percentile)
  • PHP: Proficient (80th percentile)

Programming and Web Development

  • Created a time calculator (portfolio entry) that consistently ranks high in Google’s search results and earns me advertising revenue each month
  • Intermittent programming experience beginning in 2001 (highlighted in my portfolio)
    • Python
    • Ruby
    • Bash and other Linux command line tools
    • JavaScript
      • Plain JavaScript
      • jQuery
      • Node.js
    • MySQL and some SQLite
    • PHP
      • From the ground up
      • CodeIgniter
    • Learning Haskell
    • Git, Bazaar, SVN
    • Microsoft Excel
  • Intermittent web development experience, including HTML 5 and CSS, beginning in 1998
  • Throughout my life, learned new concepts and skills notably faster than my peers

System Administration

  • Linux experience since 1998 (full-time since 2006), administering my own server and desktop machines as well as the occasional work machine
  • Thorough knowledge of the Linux command line
  • Experience with: Apache, BIND9 (DNS server), MySQL, NFS, Samba, SSH, VNC
  • Ability to quickly learn new tools

Training and Documentation

  • Developed and presented an introductory Linux training course which was very well-received
  • Have taught English as a Second Language to adult students in South Korea, Dallas, and online since 2009
  • Taught computer literacy at Delap SDA High School, Majuro, Marshall Islands
  • Adapted software manual for internal company use

Leadership

  • Consistently recognized as a leader, both formally and informally, in professional and personal capacities, and with large and small teams
  • Promoted within 6 months of being hired by SDA Samyook Language Institute and spent the remainder of my time as a coordinator, where I was the foreign teacher supervisor for my local branches
  • Led a group of ex-patriot teachers in my city in South Korea, leading to personal growth for the members and opportunities for networking. Also, expanded the group’s membership from initially only employees of my company to include all others who were interested.
  • Gained a reputation for making things happen; when others merely talk, I take action.